[va-richmond-general] Re: Bewick's Wrens at Henricus

Hey Michael.  Good job on spotting the Bewick's Wrens.  I would like to g=
o look for them but am not quite sure the location of where they were see=
n.  I've been to Henricus a few times but I don't know the area fully.  I=
f you wouldn't mind sending me directions to the spot, I'd appreciate it.=
  Thanks in advance and wish me luck.  I'll let you know if I have succes=
s.

Adam D'Onofrio
Dinwiddie Co.

Michael Shapiro wrote:

>     For those who have not already heard, two Bewick's Wrens were spott=
ed at Henricus Park this morning by Irene Ries, Art Baker, and myself. Th=
is is what happened:
>     We were behind the swamp in an area known as the "moon craters" bec=
ause of the number of impressions in the ground (filled with water) that =
resemble craters (I have since been told that the area was a bombing rang=
e during WWII). The habitat is tall grass with some dead tress and some l=
ive trees. We were about 3/4 of the way down the trial, before it dead en=
ds. A wren popped up with a white throat. We discussed how it seemed to f=
it the description of a Bewick's Wren and a decision was made to try and =
get the bird to pop up again (this was around 11am). After some pishing a=
nd skulking on our part, the bird reappeared. It was skulking under and a=
round some fallen trees and some live trees (around the base). the closes=
t we got to it was about 10 feet. As Art and I were watching it, Irene sa=
w another one in the open. She noticed the bill looked different than a C=
arolina's and there were markings on the cheek (A Carolina has plain whit=
e cheeks). She also noticed gray flanks and
>   no buff-coloring of any kind on the underside of the bird. The bird d=
isappeared again and as we were consulting field guides (three different =
ones - Kaufman, Sibley, and the ABC), it reappeared on the same fallen lo=
g. This time, the bird turned, bent over, and "mooned" us :-) - it flippe=
d up its tail and showed its bottom. There was no buff/rufous coloring an=
ywhere on the tail or on the bottom - only black and white. The back and =
white was also noticed on the edges of the tail and the bird was marked d=
ifferently on the side than a Carolina is. The eye stripe was very promin=
ent. Some twittering sounds were heard that didn't resemble those of a Ca=
rolina Wren, though to my knowledge, none of us actually witnessed either=
 of the birds singing. I listened to tapes afterwards. I did hear some so=
unds that were similar to some of the sounds on the Stokes recordings of =
a Bewick's Wren. I also listened to recordings of other wrens. Most of th=
e sounds I remembered were not like those o
>  f any other wren, except for some call sounds that sound like the reco=
rdings of both a Bewick's Wren and a Carolina Wren.
>     A detailed report/documentation has been filled out and will be mai=
led to the Regional Editor for the CBC by the end of the week. Unfortunat=
ely, none of us has a camera, but we studied the birds for about 1/2 an h=
our, consulting each other and the field guides while looking for and at =
the birds (they seem to respond well to pishing). Anyone wishing more inf=
ormation, please contact me OFF THE LISTSERV. Unless I don't have to work=
 tomorrow/Monday, I will be unable to go out and try to find the birds ag=
ain until January, as I'm going away for Winter Break. I can give a prett=
y good description of the area, however. If anyone goes out looking for t=
he birds, please e-mail me if you see one or both.
> Michael Shapiro
> Short Pump
> sc.tanager@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>
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